Recovery Efforts

*Not much new to report today.  The base is under strict instructions to limit power as much as possible: Five minute showers, one load of laundry per day, lights out during the day time, only one major appliance on at a time, etc.

*Doug was at work full time today but didn't get much work done.  He said what may impede them getting back to seeing patients as usual is not having laundry capability at the hospital which is still running on generators.  No clean scrubs=no seeing patients!

*The schools also don't have power so no school for the kids tomorrow either.  (This week was supposed to be when 3rd grade and up did "Terra Nova" standardized testing.  Max is thrilled to be missing school.)

*When Doug came home for lunch today, he grabbed Max and our neighbor Thomas.  They went and picked up the clothing collected by church members and took it to the middle school gym.

Max (age 9) took these pictures.

*Clearly, the people of Misawa are awesome and generous despite the emotional upheaval of the last few days.  Evidently they had to stop collecting donations for a time because they were getting SO MUCH and didn't have a distribution system set up.  But that was remedied and arranged and collections were continued.

*I heard tonight that the Fitness Center on-base is housing some refugees.  They aren't allowed to leave the building un-escorted (or the base at all) so a neighbor of mine is trying to arrange for people to host and feed them in our homes.  More on that when I know more.

*We're in a very strange state of limbo right now.  Doug is back at work (not working)...but the kids aren't back at school.  The power is on...but it might go off at any time.  The earthquakes and aftershocks keep coming...yet no one really pays attention to them now.  Things here seem relatively normal...and yet nothing is the same.  It's a little a lot stressful!

*We appreciate all of your prayers, love and concern.  Keep 'em coming.  It's means a lot that people are thinking and worrying about us.

*Again, at this time they are not asking for people to mail things from the states.  The best way to help is to donate money.  I don't know much about which charities are trying to help, but I do know the L.D.S. church IS, and that 100% of your donation goes directly to the recovery effort.  None is used for overhead.  Also, I know the Red Cross is already established here on-base and already helping.

*On his way up to bed, Doug noticed there is an inch of new snow on the ground.  It's going to be a cold night for those without adequate shelter or heat!

Humanitarian Aid for Hachinohe

Hachinohe is the nearest "big city" to us here in Misawa.  It's where the good recycle shops, Toy's R Us and the fabric store are.  Where to go if you want a 4-D ultrasound or Cello lessons or great rock climbing right next to the ocean.

And it was hit pretty hard by a huge Tsunami.  Unfortunately for the locals, a lot of the resources were diverted or sent to Sendai leaving Hach short.   Most Japanese people live in pretty tight quarters and don't have excess food storage, so not being able to shop frequently is a problem.  And apparently the grocery stores are now empty.

On Sunday, Pres. B. announced in church that we would be collecting supplies to take to Hach.

Misawa Mormons were asked to donate food and warm blankets.   (And many of our friends and neighbors donated too.)

Tonight Doug went with some other branch members (including some of the youth) and took the donations to the L.D.S. church building in Hachinohe.

This is the e-mail I got tonight:

Misawa Branch Members-

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!! I am so humbled to have seen the amazing outpouring of charity demonstrated by you all. This evening we loaded up in THREE VEHICLES all the food, blankets and sleeping bags collected over the past 30 hours and delivered them to the Hachinohe Branch President. He was amazed! He was so humble and grateful for all that you shared. It is an experience that I will never forget! He said that it is enough food to last a very long time! He said he would share it with families and friends who will need it over the next days to weeks. We still have TWO VEHICLES full of clothing. We plan on donating these to the local Jr/Sr High School/Red Cross humanitarian drive.

I can't thank you enough!  --President B.

The local missionaries and Hach Branch President with our BP and members

My husband is a goof-ball!

Getting everything sorted

Hopefully enough to last a little while at least!

:)

:)

:)

Earthquake Aftermath

*The power is on, but we're told the grid is very fragile right now and we should conserve power to prevent black outs.

*Turns out there is more than one reason to have a clean, uncluttered house.  When the power goes out and an extra five people move in, you wish you had cleaned up a little better.  Since my house was only half clean and half organized it was only half as chaotic as it could have been.  (Or only half as efficient and orderly.)

*The Japanese people are amazing!  They have been dignified, sensible, and cool-headed throughout this.  Take note, Americans!  (Myself included.)

*Also, when you're focused on surviving, you don't care about all your "STUFF".  When things are back to normal, I'll be doing a VERY deep clean to get rid of lots of superfluous CRAP.
More blankets?  Yes.  Extra scrap-booking supplies?  NO!!!

*Took my first shower today since Friday morning.  The hot water felt heavenly.  Yesterday I washed my hair in the sink before church.  Doug had to help so I could keep the towel wrapped tightly around my shoulders (it was still freezing cold in the house at that point.).  First I got my hair wet with the frigid tap water and quickly shampooed.  There may have been very loud shrieking.  Then Doug rinsed it for me with warm water we heated on the camp stove.  Ahhhhh....sweet warmth!  Although the clean hair was nice, cleanliness really isn't THAT important when it's that cold.  Turns out I might rather be stinky and warm.  I'm kind of a wuss that way.

*Doug went to work this morning and came home around lunch time.  (Although he is, of course, not seeing patients.)  It sounds like the Med Group will just basically be on call to help the Relief Teams coming through Misawa.

*We're allowed to get 10 gallons of gas, per day, per family.  Another thing that would be good to have stored.  (Although in our case, we have nowhere to go.)

*The boys wont be back in school until Wednesday.  Not sure if the school is shut down because of damage or if it's just that people want to keep their kids close...?

*On Saturday, in the midst of all this happening, when we started to hear the news of how bad the devastation was, I started feeling really depressed.  It felt like things would never be okay and never get back to normal.  It's really weird that things are slowly getting back to normal and that there are people out there totally unaffected by this.  (Just a random thought.)

*Doug is currently with some of the local branch leaders delivering supplies to Hachinohe.  Evidently a lot of their resources are being diverted to Sendai so they're running short.

*F.Y.PrepardnessI.: When I went to the commissary on Saturday, this is what was gone or going fast:  Peanut Butter was going fast.  (And I cleaned out the last of the Nutella.)  Paper Products--the shelves were empty.  Batteries--all gone.  Bottled Water and Charcoal--they brought some more out from the back while I was there and it immediately disappeared.  Candles --I don't know what kind of candle selection they usually have, but I couldn't find any.  (Doug said the "Book Mart"--which just re-opened today--was selling them, but only allowed two per family.)  The diaper selection was getting pretty picked over and I imagine the formula was all gone.  Not many people were buying cold stuff (since it was sitting there warming up) but the bread shelves were bare.

*Oh yeah:  Don't forget to put some card games and kid entertainment in those 72 hour kits.  The kids around here were going through electronics withdrawal and many were starting to twitch.

More tomorrow if we still have power.

These are the picture Doug took of our "sea side" and dock area yesterday after church.  (Even though I threatened dire consequences if he went anywhere near the beach--you can tell he's really scared of me.)  The sad thing is, this is NOTHING compared to what they suffered in Sendai and Hachinohe.

Earthquake Relief and Update

*Just for your information, blankets and warm coats ARE needed.  But our post office isn't up and running so mailing them to me probably wont be efficient.  If you're in the states and would like to help, your best bet is probably to contact your local Mormon bishop or the Red Cross to find out how and where to take donations!  Thanks!

*Church members here are collecting donations of food and blankets and a group will be taking them to our neighboring city Hachinohe tomorrow.  It was slammed by a huge Tsunami and is in pretty bad shape.  (Kind of amazing we weren't hit worse considering how close we are.)

*Lights, heat, and Internet are back up for the first time in over 48 hours.  It's nice to be connected again, but horrible to see news footage of the devastation.

*We're still having plenty of aftershocks, though they're mostly small ones.  The constant motion gives you a sense of vertigo or sea sickness and lots of people have headaches.  It's getting hard to tell if we're having a quake or not.  We have to check the chandelier for reference.   I'm worried another big one will hit and knock everything out again.   Hope not!

I'll write more tomorrow if I still have Internet access.

Thanks for your prayers and concern everyone!

Surviving the Earthquake in Japan

Hi Everyone,
We're doing "fine" here.  Considering what is going on around us.  When the first big quake hit, around 2:45 in the afternoon on Friday, I ran to Gray's room and grabbed him out of his crib.  We've had plenty of earthquakes in the 2.5 years we've been here, but this one was huge.  Gabe started crying and calling for me --I got him too and we huddled on the stairs away from windows and light fixtures.  The two big boys were walking home from school and came in while the house was still shaking.  They thought it was exciting.  I yelled at them to "GET BACK OUTSIDE!" because I'd just been told if you're outside, you're supposed to stay outside!  I sat on the stairs praying: "Please protect my kids, please protect my kids, please protect my kids..."  It seemed to last forever (around 5 minutes I've heard) and then the aftershocks just kept coming and coming.  They're still coming.

They evacuated the hospital and Doug was able to come home around 4.  [I can't tell you what a relief it was to have my whole entire family safe and together.  And how upsetting it was/is to think of people all over Japan who have family unaccounted for.  It's really hard for me whenever one of the husbands has to leave.]

Since then, the power has been out and we haven't had any heat or access to phones (to the states) or Internet (except Doug getting one e-mail out from the hospital.)   Friday evening we moved our friends in with us (Tami and Wes and three kids) since they just shipped all of their stuff to the states in preparation for their move in two weeks.  It's been nice to have them around because everyone is on edge and extremely stressed.  (And Tami is very cool under pressure!  She's amazing.  Me, not so much turns out.)

Yesterday (Saturday) they opened the commissary (No lights, cash only) and we grabbed some extra food, water and diapers.  Since we have the standard Mormon "food storage" I wasn't too worried about running out of food or water, but I didn't have any spare diapers so was happy to buy three big boxes yesterday for Gray-Gray.  (And yes, I bought two big cans of hot chocolate.  Priorities, people!)

We went to church for a shortened meeting to take the sacrament and get the news today.  All members of the branch have been accounted for and we've heard that all the missionaries in Japan are accounted for also.  (Big relief.)

The power is now back on off-base which is how I have Internet access right now.  We're at Tami's house.  Hopefully it stays on.

Anyway, evidently Misawa is going to become the base for rescue operations in nearby prefectures.    We were asked at church to see what extra coats, blankets, food and water we can round up to donate to the Japanese people nearby.  I feel heart sick thinking of those who've lost homes and loved ones.  Although you probably know much more than me, I hear the devastation is extremely great.   We were lucky to be so safe on base and grateful our off-base friends and neighbors were okay.

The earthquakes (aftershocks) haven't stopped and I spent all night last night having nightmares about running from collapsing and buckling buildings.  The kids are on edge and tantrums are at an all time high.  They keep busy playing during the day, but when it gets dark and we have to ration flashlights and candles it gets extra hard to keep the peace.

A few things I've been wanting to tell people and note for the future:

*Get an old school, corded phone.  If the power goes out, your cordless wont work.  We were lucky to have a corded phone upstairs which helped Doug coordinate with the Branch President to get accountability of church members.  (The phones have worked on-base off and on, but we were never able to get a call through to the states.)

*Speaking of accountability, in an emergency, if you're going to leave your house--leave a note on the door saying where you are going so when guys from church or work coming looking, they'll know where you are.

*When the power went out, people off base couldn't get their cars out of their garage.  Turns out there is a special crank to use but most of our friends didn't have it or know what it was.  Luckily Tami had parked outside and was able to get her kids to our house Friday.

*We've been cooking with our camping equipment.  Note to self:  Buy a 20 pack of small propane tanks.  We've also used our outdoor BBQ (in the cold) and I'm wishing I had a spare tank of Propane for that.  (We still don't have power and don't know when it will come back on On Base.  Estimates have said 24 hours (we're way past that) to 1 week, to indefinite.)

*Do you have an extra refill of your prescriptions in your 72 hour kit?  It's terrifying to imagine running out of the things you take every day.  Also, the thought of my kids getting sick and not having enough Children's Advil and/or Tylenol made me pretty nervous until I verified we had some of each.

*For ONCE I was glad to be doing Dave Ramsey yesterday when we had plenty of cash on hand to shop at the commissary.  But we also have a cash and yen emergency fund hidden in the house for back-up which was very comforting.

*While I'm making notes to myself:  Buy a hand crank wheat grinder and blender!  (We have whole wheat, and we have a freezer full of frozen fruit to make smoothies but no way to blend anything.)

*Flashlights are a pain in my butt.  All of our stupid Rayovac crappy-crap batteries that I had stored for an emergency, LEAKED!  So the flashlights are all slowly dying, being over used by the children, and being misplaced.  The best source of light the last two nights has been the pillar candles I've had in the cupboard for fancy table settings.  They seem to burn pretty slow and shed a lot of light.  I've gone through 3 and have 1 left.  Wish I had a 20 pack of those in my 72 hour pack.  It would be nice not to worry about running out.  Small, light weight, energy efficient lanterns would be nice too.  (Turns out, I did have 100 hour candles in my pack...just didn't know/remember.)

*Also, my next house will have a wood burning fire place.  This all would have been much easier if we could have been warm.  (Other option, buy a propane heater.)

*Also, I'm buying all my kids a down comforter.  We have one on our bed and we've been fine at night, but the kids need 20 blankets piled up to stay warm.  (Actually, the two big boys each have a two layer fleece blanket which is pretty warm, but unfortunately, they're not very big.)  There is still snow on the ground here.

(Poor little Gray had to spend yesterday in his snow suit to stay warm.  The poor little guy must be sensing the stress because he's been quite out of sorts.  He's always shivering (even when bundled) and very clingy.  The kids are all confused and upset but mostly hanging in there.  Like I said, it's been nice to have friends to keep us company.)

Sorry, I'm rambling on and on but I've had all this stress for the last two days and my main way to process is by writing my thoughts down.  So I've been going a little nuts feeling so disconnected.

A few more random thoughts:
*The last two days this thought kept running through my head "All are safely gathered in.".  I can't express enough how glad I was/am to have my family around me.  Please say a prayer for our many many friends with deployed spouses.  This is a very stressful time here and it's really sucky for them to be apart.  Also, please pray for all the Japanese people who are missing or displaced.  So sad.

*We were very blessed on base to have running (freezing cold) water.  Off base, sewer lines broke and contaminated the water supply they weren't even supposed to touch it.

*Today we sang "I Need Thee Every Hour" at church.  Has a lot of meaning right now.

Okay, there are other people who need to use this computer.  Everyone on base is coming off base to try to contact family.

Tami's husband (Pilot) is at work trying to coordinate rescue efforts so I should go down and help her take care of the multitude of children and get everyone some lunch.

Please pray for us (us being everyone in Japan) and if you feel so inclined, find a way to send some warm blankets to people who've lost their homes.  Don't know when I'll be back on-line again, but hopefully soon.

Thanks to everyone for your concern.  I knew (figured) there were people praying for us back in the states and it helped to think about that.
:)

-Emily

Emily is SAFE! We are so happy to know!

I just had Emily's big brother hack her blog although he promised to never do it again.  But we wanted to let everyone know that although Emily has no Internet access, she is alive and well and safe in Japan.

As family we were privy to this email from Doug:

We are doing well. We had a lot of earthquakes starting around 2:45 pm yesterday. The first lasted like 10  minutes. Had a little girl in my dental chair so I picked her up and held her the whole time. I guess we had around a 5ish and Sendai, 4 hours south, is the worst. You all have probably heard more about it than we have. I think it was a 8.9 or so and they had some tsunamis. Our base is fine, just don't have any power for the past 16 hours with no news on when they will get the power plants back on line. We had a slumber party with our friends who just shipped their household goods back to the states, including 72 hours kits!

So we are good - just a bit cold. Em somehow managed a gourmet meal of salmon and couscous with our camp stove and BBQ last night and looks like we have pancakes on the menu for breakfast.

Love you all. I tried to call the states but its just busy.

I'm at the hospital now with the computer plugged into an emergency outlet so I won't be able to update too much. We are fine though.

-Doug

So just to let everyone know-- Emmy is fine!!! SO GLAD!

In Which We All Live Happily Ever After?

The Story of My Life

(starts here.)

Chapter 4

It has now been a little over a week since "The Incident" and I'll bet you're wondering:  "Did it work?
Were the boys scared into submission?  Are they on their best behavior?"

Well, yes and no.

Yes, it did have an impact.  And hopefully it will curtail the worst of the physical violence for awhile.
But NO it did not stop the boys from fighting.  Things around here are pretty normal; whining, teasing, tattling, fake crying, etc.  In other words, life in a house full of boys.

So although you're welcome to use this as a cautionary tale for your own kids, (several friends already have) I don't know that I'd recommend it as sure fire way to improve behavior.

Turns out, I may have been the one MOST traumatized by the whole thing.  Time will tell.

In the mean time, I'm going to an even higher authority than the base police: The Big Guy Upstairs.  I'll be begging for extra help and intercession to keep all of us--the whole family--out of jail in the future.  I could also use an extra large measure of patience to keep me in my "happy place."
(SERENITY NOW!!!)

Wish me luck...I need all the help I can get!!!


--The End--

(if only...)

In Which We Go to Jail

The Story of My Life

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Roxanna stands on the doorstep holding Baby Gray while I drag Sam, literally kicking and screaming, to the car.  She's probably thinking I've snapped and that Security Forces is the safest place for all of us.

Max is already in the car. Evidently he figures Sammy is making enough noise for the both of them so he's barely even protested.  Yes, I'm taking Max too.  He may not make as much noise, but he's usually the instigator of their fights.  And like my Mama always used to say, "It takes two to fight."

I stick Sam in the car, close the door, and start walking around to get in.

He opens the door, and sprints, screaming for help, to Roxanna--managing to get his arms around her legs before I get to him.

I detach him, drag him back to the car, and manhandle him in.
Again.

This time I flip down the child lock before closing the van door.  Then rush to the other side to do the same thing before Sammy can make his way past the car seat.

We drive the short distance to Security Forces which is just across the street from the base Burger King.  Max is sitting with his arms folded tightly across his chest glaring at me.  Sam is screaming; "PLEASE! NO MOMMY!  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!  I'M SORRY!!!!!!!!" over and over again.

I talk calmly about anger and choices and how I decided not to make the choice to spank them and am choosing to do this instead.

We arrive and I have to drag Sam inside.  All of the sudden, instead of trying to get away from me, he's clinging to me with all his might.  I look through a glass partition and speak to the first person I see.
"Hi...I'm the one who called......"
(You know, the crazy lady with the out of control kids...?!)

"Yep, come on back Ma'am."

"Ma'am, may I just see your I.D.?"

AHHHHH!!!!  I FORGOT MY I.D.!  I JUST DROVE WITHOUT MY I.D. AND NOW I HAVE TO CONFESS THAT TO THE COP!

"Uh oh...I forgot it.  Sorry..."

(No biggie.  Please say 'No biggie...!!!')

"Okay Ma'am!  I'm just going to need you to get that!  Don't worry, I'll keep these two here with me!"
(Me:  Stunned silence.  No choice.  Must get I.D.!  AHHHH!!!)

"Okay.  I'll be right back."

I am now officially leaving my kids--with cops--at the police station.  If this whole experience wasn't traumatizing enough, now I'm made it 100 times worse.  I run to my car and speed back home.
Pull in, leap out, run inside, grab wallet, back in the car, speed back.
I feel like bursting into tears, but I'm too wound up.  Instead I just keep thinking how I am clearly the WORST.
MOM.
EVER!!!

I go back into the station, back behind the glass partition with the officers and boys are waiting for me and Sam immediately runs to my side and starts to whimper again.

The officer says, "HEY!  What did I tell you!?  No crying!  Come back here. Stand up straight and look at me!!

He then proceeds to lecture both boys in a very stern voice, pausing occasionally to question them on their actions and motives.  He tells them that when grown-ups fight, they get to come here!
Does it look fun to come here?  No it is NOT fun!
They need to respect their mother.
They need to respect each other.
They need to make better choices.
They need to apologize.

"And now I'm going to have Officer Jones* show you the cell!"
He picks up a large key.  The BIGGEST brass key I've ever seen.  It's bigger than my whole hand.  He gives it to Officer Jones who says "Follow me!"

We walk down the hall, through a door and stop in front of one of the cells.
"This is where we put the bad people!"
(Opens cell.)
"Go inside there Sam!"
(Puts Sam inside cell and LOCKS HIM IN.  Speaks through the wire grate window:)
"Do you like it in their Sam?  No?  Then don't make me put you back in here!"
He unlocks the door and lets Sammy out.  

We are all free to go.  I thank the officers and we leave.  Right outside the door, I squat down and give both boys a hug.  Sammy starts crying again and says "Sorry Mommy!"

And we go.

Like I said:
WORST.
MOM.
EVER!!!








*I have no idea what his name and/or rank/title actually is.  Don't remember.

In Which the Police are Called

This is The Story of My Life

Read Chapter 1 here.

Chapter 2

Sunday (Day 6 of Doug's absence):

The day has gone smoothly.  We made it to church 5 MINUTES EARLY instead of 5 minutes late!  (Confirming my theory that it's DOUG who makes us late--not ME.)  We get home.  I drop Gray-Gray on the kitchen floor and head upstairs to change out of my church clothes.  I change, pee, and come back downstairs.  The kids have been unattended for anywhere between 4-6 minutes.  

And all hell has broken loose.  

Gabe is crying in the kitchen, Gray is crawling around unhappily and Sam and Max are fighting in the hall.  Like, REALLY fighting.  Punching and kicking.  Throwing out the worst in their collective vocabularies:  "MORON!"  "IDIOT!"

I manage to decipher that the fight is over the leftover pizza they want to eat for lunch.  Max thinks it's okay to eat three of the remaining five pieces.  Sam disagrees.  I break them up and order them both to "TIME OUT!" in their bedroom with NO pizza for lunch.

Max marches off to his room in a huff.  Sammy runs to the kitchen, smacks Gabe, steals a pizza slice, and keeps on running.

Now I'm getting upset.  Gabe is screaming.  Sam is running away from me, and Gray is trying desperately to crawl after me and crying now that I wont pick him up.  

I catch Sam and drag him upstairs.  Now he is hysterical.  Hitting, thrashing, trying to get away.  I shove him in his room and try to hold the door closed from the outside.  Unfortunately, the doors in our house have pull-down handles.  Not door knobs.  And it's hard to pull up on one, to keep the door closed, when someone on the other side is pulling down and out with all his might.  

The screaming and door yanking is interrupted only by short breaks to throw things.  I've been here before and I know this isn't going to end any time soon.  I try to lock him in his room using the baby gate to keep the door closed.  I'm tired.  My husband is out of town.  I'm angry but I'm trying to stay calm.  I really REALLY want to just let him have it.  Give him a smack and an angry lecture.  But I'm trying SO SO hard to be a GOOD example.  Show him that HITTING ISN'T THE ANSWER.  I'm so tired.  I need to call someone for HELP! 

I wedge the baby gate under his door handle one more time and head down stairs.  After only a few pulls he's free and chasing me down, screaming and pulling on me.

I pull out the "police" threat again.  

"Sammy, you better knock it off or I'll call the police.  This is NOT OKAY!"

More screaming, no knocking-off.

I pick up the phone.

"I'm going to call the police!"

Hysterical screaming.

"If you don't want me to call you need to calm down and quit hitting me.  You're scaring Baby Gray!"

No calming, more screaming.

I think about 911.  I think they might not appreciate me calling 911 to report a 6 year old having a tantrum.  I dial the base operator and ask for Security Forces and they transfer me to the non-emergency number.

"Hi, I have a--sorry, can you hold on?  It's very noisy here" (I try to leave three screaming kids behind and find a quiet spot.  Not possible.)  "Okay, hi.  I have a six year old, and he's been hitting a lot lately.  I've been telling him it's not okay to hit and that it's actually against the law to hurt people.  I was wondering if you could talk to him..."  

I've locked myself in the bathroom by now.  Sam and Gabe are screaming and banging on the door.  Gray is at their feet crying wondering what in the world is happening and why wont I just PICK HIM UP!

The officer says "Sure--I can talk to him!  Can you bring him in?  Would it be possible for you to come down here to our office?"

--pause--

"Um...yes."

"Okay, bring him in.  I'll give him a good talking to and try to scare him a little."

I hang up and call Roxanna.

"Roxanna, can you watch Gabe and Gray for me?  I have to take Max and Sam to Security Forces."

--pause--

"I'll be right there."

In Which The Threat is Made

This blog is, after all The Story of My Life.  So I guess if I take my kid to jail I need to write about it, eh?

Chapter 1

Remember how I said when Doug was gone it was a really long week?  I wasn't joking.  See, it all started last Saturday...

(cue flashback music.)

Saturday  (Day 5 of Doug's absence) :

I had a baby shower to go to and while I was gone, there was a little...incident.

Our friend and neighbor Janelle was babysitting.  She's a senior this year.  She's mature.  She's competent.  She has 4 younger siblings.  She doesn't take any nonsense from pip-squeaks.  And she cleans my house.

I put "Mega Mind" on the computer and left hoping the kids would just chill and let Janelle do my dishes or something!

Things were going well until Sam started picking a fight with Max.  Nothing big, just some annoying teasing.  No big deal--until she tried to put him in "time-out".

Sammy's response was to have one of his nuclear melt-downs.  Now, these have become standard fare around here lately, but this is the first time Bammers has subjected a babysitter to his weeping, wailing, knashing of teeth and physical assault.  (And did I mention throwing things?  He threw the lid to the toy box across the room and shattered it.)

He unleashed on Janelle.

Evidently, she kept calm, and eventually (she said he yelled for about 30 minutes) got Sammy calmed down and left him in his room "until your mother gets home!"

When I finally did come home we all talked about it.  Sammy said sorry and gave Janelle a hug.  After she left I had him write and deliver an apology letter.  Then I mentioned the following:

"It is not okay to hit or hurt people.  In fact, Janelle could have called the police because you were attacking her.  It's called 'assault'.  It's not okay.  If you attack anyone again, I'LL call the police."

I'm not big on idol threats.

When I said it, I meant it.

Dear Blogland; What Day Is It Again?

Well, it's been a very very long week.  Sorry to leave everyone hanging.  (It was only sort of intentional!)  The good news (for me) is that the end is in sight and Doug is on his way home!*

The OTHER good news for Doug (and all of us) is that there are a few great job prospects in California.  It looks like we WONT have to move into a cardboard box on the beach after all.  (That was my Plan B.)

It's going to be a few more weeks, though, until any decisions are made.  Sorry I can't be more specific.  (Trust me, I really wish I could.)

In other news, if you can't get ahold of me this coming week, it's because I'll be in self-imposed isolation at the local Funny Farm.  I'm hoping to get a few naps in and go at least one whole hour without having to put anyone in "time out".  Hopefully the other inmates aren't as violent and naughty as my children!  (Wish me luck.)

And now I'm off to bed.

Signed,

Emily Driven-Crazy-By-Her-Children Dub



*After having him gone for less than one week, I (once again) have an even greater appreciation and respect for my friends with deployed husbands.  How they manage their lives so well as single parents is beyond me!

Doug Day 3

Day 3 (My Thursday, Your Wednesday)


Dashing D-Dub,

Should we just leave everyone hanging about your job status?

Yeah, I think so too.

See you tomorrow!

Love,

Em

Dear Douglas Diary Day Dos

Day 2 (My Wednesday.  Your Tuesday)

Dear Douglas,
Yesterday is a bit of a blur.  The problem is that it started at 6:30 a.m. when some blurry child dumped crying Gray on top of me.  I know I was out of bed by 7:30 (I clearly remember being upset by this fact) and the day just kept going from there!

I must have been running on sheer adrenalin, because I never got a nap, and I actually felt pretty good most of the day.  Except, of course, when I got to hear about the gorgeous warm weather in San Diego, your trip to Target, and your plans to go to "Pipes" for breakfast without me!

Bah!!!

Mid-morning I did the grocery shopping.  All was going smoothly until I realized I'd left the stupid money envelope home.  Stupid stupid stupid stupid Dave Ramsey!
(Yes, all the kid voices in my head are screaming "We don't say STUPID!!!")

LUCKILY, Miss Amanda (not Jones)* was also doing her shopping and agreed to hang with the kids and cart while I sped home to retrieve it.  That wonderful sainted woman!  That could have put a serious damper on my naturally cheery outlook to have to abandon a cart full of food and take both boys home with me to get the ENVELOPES!  (Why oh why can't I have just one tiny credit card for emergencies???)

Anyhoo, around 1700, Janelle came over - again - and saved the day. (night.)  She stayed with Gray and Sam while I took Max and Gabe to basketball.  So, it turns out, this was Gabe's last practice.  Luckily I had the camera because it was HI.LAR.I.OUS!  They had a "game" and I was laughing the whole time.  Usually when a kid would get the ball, he or she would tuck it under their arm and just book it across the "court" to their basket and dunk it.  All the kids ran together in a big herd except for the two or three always wandering off in the wrong direction.

Gabe got frustrated at never getting the ball and--like a little slump-shouldered Charlie Brown--sulked off the court a few times.  But then he DID get the ball--TWICE -- and made two "shots"!  (Slam dunks, actually.  He's quite tall compared to many of the other kids out there--and the basket.)

It was pretty darn cute.  And I got ample photo documentation to prove it.

Somehow when I got home, I managed to get the little 'uns in bed and did some more Percy reading with the big 'uns.

And then I was fading fast.

I watched some old "House" episodes.

I made myself some Peppermint herbal tea.

I just kept trying to stay up a liiii-ttle bit longer.

I kept thinking "HOW can I go to bed when Doug will be waking up and going to an interview in a few short hours?  I should just wait up until HE wakes up and talk to him before he leaves!"

I lasted until 2300.

My body was shutting down involuntarily.

So after a fervent prayer on your behalf, I went.

And the bed was cold again.

And that was my day.

xoxoxo,

Your Sleepy Wife


*See "Some Kind of Wonderful" for reference!  I have that song stuck in my head now!

Dear Douglas Diary

Day 1 (Tuesday)

Dear Douglas,
1300 - Welp, you're really gone!  Today after dropping you off at the base airport, I drove home and I put Gsquared down for naps.  Rose came over to give me my piano lesson during which the phone rang approximately 12 times.  Sorry if 11 of those were you, bored, in the terminal.

After piano, I took the phone off the hook and collapsed on the couch for 50 minutes of sheer nap-time bliss.  Ah, naps; How do I love thee?!

1445 - Thing 1 and Thing 2 came home from school.  Of course their loud arrival woke Things 3 and 4 (respectively) and we started "My Day - Phase 2" together.  Somehow 3 convinced 1 (who was in an extremely good mood! ???) to play outside with him while I fed Baby (4) a banana.  And then an applesauce cup.  And then nursed him.  And then tried in vain to top him off with Cheerios.  The child is turning into a bottomless pit.  (I have serious concerns about our future grocery consumption!)
Of course; Little 2 disappeared to Chipmunks house the first time my back was turned and didn't come home until summoned at 1645.

1700 - Dinner was (boring) bean burritos followed by dessert:  half a chapter of Percy Jackson (hard to read with the two little ones rampaging) out loud for Thing 1 and 2.  Then I helped 'em with piano,
and then homework,
and then...FINALLY!...

Janelle arrived.
Bless her little red-headed heart!

I carpooled to the R.S. meeting with Roxy and Stacy -- where I went directly to the nursery, not passing go and not collecting $200.  I've heard from several sources though, that the meeting upstairs was very helpful, interesting, and informative!

Here's to more Internet security and less p0r^, eh!?!
At least I got a piece of pie.  (Not "the pie."  Just pie.)

(BTW, the adorable little girls were in nursery and they were adorable.  Also, like 78 other kids and 20 babies.  Or maybe just two.  It's kind of a blur.)

Of course, when I got home, I sat in the car talking to R for an extra hour so lucky Janelle got paid more.

But the house was spotless when I walked in so she was (is) worth every.single.penny.  (And I paid her lots of 'em.)

By the time she left it was 2230 (that's 10:30 p.m. for you math inept civilians) and I should have gone straight to bed.

Buuuuut...You weren't up there pre-warming the bed!

What woulda been the point?
(Turns out: sleep.)

Instead, I went to the living room, watched two episodes of Community, read a million blog posts, and finally dragged my sorry self to bed at 2.

I fell asleep in the painfully cold bed wondering where in the sky you were and feeling guilty at my lack of meaningful scripture study. (I managed about 3 verses before the words blurred and my prayer may or may not have ended mid-sentence without a proper "Amen." Sigh.)

Anyway, that was my day.  Yes, I know you neither want nor need the long version, but you know me:  I'm a talker!

I miss you already!

And not just your tag-team child rearing assistance and warm-body-ness.
(Just for the record.)

--
More tomorrow...
xoxo

Gray = Sunshine

Dear Baby Gray,

Today you are approximately 10 months and 13 days old.  Time flies in a house full of boys, eh?  Since Big brother Gabe has been gone this morning (getting evaluated over at the school) I've had a lot of time to spend with you alone.

First, we had breakfast.  Daddy left us yummy oatmeal with blended up dates and strawberries and apple chunks on top.  You polished off your bowl full and then demanded more from my bowl (using the "all done" sign when you really meant "NOT ALL DONE!")

After that, you crawled around a little while I cleaned up.  Your favorite thing to do is crawl past or over any sort of baby/kid toy and head straight for the nearest off-limits area.  The open dishwasher (love to play with those knives) the open pantry (love to pull those large cans down onto your toes) the unsecured desk/computer area (Yes! to eating cords)

Without fail, whilst you go adventuring around the house, you'll find something to chew on.  Not your binky--that will never do.  It must be something forbidden:  a silver gum wrapper, a glittery bouncy ball, a misplaced die from a game.  Any sort of paper or trash will do in a pinch, but you also gravitate to anything small and hard that would be considered a choking hazard by your mother.

After your adventuring (and after I removed a gum wrapper, a glitter bouncy ball and a die from your mouth) you sat on my lap for some one-on-one time.

We played peek-a-boo, and pat-a-cake and worked on our signing ("more" and "all done").  We practiced saying Mamamamama (which came out sounding suspiciously like Dadadadadada) we gave kisses (I know you weren't trying to make me cry when you bit my cheek really really hard with your razor sharp teeth...seventeen times.) and cuddled and cooed and laughed.

Then you started getting restless and fussy and let me know in no uncertain terms that you'd like to eat and then sleep.  Immediately and in that order.  So I nursed you, and cuddled you, and tucked you into your crib under Grandma Fae's blankie.  (Of course you immediately stood up, cried and reached for me, but we both know you didn't mean it.)

Now you're asleep, snoring into the baby monitor, and I'm left with a quite, seemingly kid-less (but messy) house.  A house that wouldn't be the same without you, Baby Gray!  So happy to have you!

Lot's of Love,
Mommy

Sapporo Report

Listen, I could go on and on about our trip to Hokkaido (next island up) for the Sapporo Snow Festival.  But you don't have time for that.  Instead I'll just give you the high(and low)lights:

1.  We saw some really cool, really large snow and ice sculptures:

2.  There was a blizzard:

Baby Gray was NOT a fan

3.  Gabe got lost for 20 minutes shortly after striking this model pose in the snow:

Lost child ALMOST causes international incident

(Doug found him with a policeman across the street.  I was busy trying to get a Swedish ambassador to translate for me.  It wasn't my favorite moment.)

4.  I bought myself a Valentine:
(I don't have a picture so just imagine red, knee-high fuzzy socks with white hearts, made out of the same ultra soft material as the following:)

5.  I bought Doug a Valentine:

(Just kidding.  I bought the socks, but not the ultra soft and fuzzy short spats.)

6.  There were absolutely no snow globes to be found in the whole city.

7.  There WAS, however, a PEACOCK!

Sunday Thought - Love and Marriage

I'm very sad when I say I know far too many people who divorced last year, are in the process of getting divorced, or are planning to divorce.  It is extremely heart breaking.

Therefore, I would like to announce to all of my friends and family that I will accept no divorces this year.  You're just going to have to stick it out until next year.  My psyche can't take it.  

This year you're just gonna have to STAY IN LOVE!!!

That is all.

"Scripturally, the Lord is very clear with us on this doctrine--you can't "fall out of love," because love is something you decide.  Agency plays a fundamental role in our relationships with one another.  This being true, we must make the conscious decision that we will love our spouse and family with all our heart, soul, and mind; that we will build, not "fall into," strong, loving marriages and families.  "Don't just pray to marry the one you love. Instead, pray to love the one you marry."  

(Elder Lynn G. Robbins, "Agency and Love in Marriage", Ensign 2000)

(full text here:http://lds.org/ensign/2000/10/agency-and-love-in-marriage?lang=eng )

Now have a happy Valentines Day!

(That's an order!)

Dear Emily Matchar,

Dear Emily Matchar,

Let's just get one thing straight: Mormon Mommy Blogs and Mormons in general are really super-duper cool.  You are right to love and admire us via your addiction to Mormon Mommy Blogs.

BUT, (and I know this may blow your bloggity mind) we are not all the same.  And our blogs are not all the same.

You need to add a few more "Mormon Mommies" to your Reader to get a more well-balanced view of Mormon's.

I suggest you start with mine!

It will prove that not all Mormon's take professional quality pictures, buy vintage baby clothes, whip up adorable crafts daily and have husbands who wear plaid.  (My husband wears BDU's and scrubs alternately.)

Some Mormon babies have snotty noses!  YIKES!

(However, it MAY confirm that all Mormon's DO love Costco and Target.  But really, can you blame us?) 

Also, many of our women are "overeducated" (just not me) and some of us can't cook. (Sort of me.)  I could go on and on contradicting most of your points but I wont.  Suffice it to say, we're not all alike, we're not all perfect, and we're not all happy automatons.  BUT, we are pretty dang awesome in general and our religion has a lot to do with that.

Just wanted to get that out.

Sincerely,


Emily Dub

P.S.  Quit being such a huge WUSS and invite the missionaries in for Hot Chocolate.  They wont bite you and they'll clear up many of the mis-conceptions you have about our religion.  (And I promise they wont force you into the nearest baptismal font...as long as you don't get too close.)

P.P.S.  If you are NOT Emily Matchar and have no idea what I'm talking about, see this article.

So I Say It's My Birthday!

It's my BIRTHDAY today.  I'm thirty-three.  Three is my lucky number.
Therefore, this birthday should be twice as lucky, right?
Or three times?
Thirty-three times?
I'm not great at math, but lets just say this is a very lucky birthday.
And I'm dreaming big.

First, I respectfully request 33 comments on this blog post.  More would be fine, but 33 minimum.  Not sure what to write?  Let me help.  How about "Three (or 33) things I love about Emily or Emily's Blog."
Be creative.  No rush.

Also, I'd like three different kinds of chocolate.
I'll start things off with some Hot Chocolate.  We just got home from the Sapporo Snow Festival and I'm still cold.  (Also, I need something to help me through the 33 loads of laundry I have to do today.)
Doug will have to rustle up the other two treats.

Lastly, I'd like a three hour nap.  I'm not really sure where I'll fit this in, but I have to try.  I suppose I could shoot for a 33 minute nap.  That might be more doable.   Also, reading time is an acceptable substitution for sleeping time.  But only because I'm in the middle of a good book.

Now I'm off to work on making some of my birthday dreams come true.  Next stop, my couch a mug of H.C.  You and Doug can take care of the rest!

Who could say no to this face???

Happy Birthday to ME!


*Just as I was about to push "Publish Post" there was a knock on the door.  It was my friend Tami delivering a can of Stephen's Chocolate Cinnamon Gourmet Hot Cocoa.  I KNEW it!!!  Birthday dreams really DO come true!!!!!!!

New Year, Same Me

So, I always have this vague, fuzzy goal to "exercise more".  Basically, since I exercise never, "more" could technically mean one time.  Today I met my goal.  I exercised more today than I have in months.  (I was a little motivated to do crunches after having Gray, but as soon as I lost weight, I gave those up for Lent.)

Anyway, Doug suggested maybe I could go to the gym once a week while he's home for lunch.  I couldn't really think of any reasonable objections.  I mean, we all know mornings wont work (for the obvious reason that I'm asleep) and nights are filled with dinner, putting boys to bed and USA shows or, alternately, Pottery Class.

But lunch?  The only thing I'm generally doing at lunch is eating lunch...and day dreaming about a nap.  Both of which--turns out--can be delayed.

So then it was a matter of motivating me to actually do it.  We all know (we married folk) that there is one sure way to bribe your husband to do whatever you want him to do...

And that is by promising to put all four boys in bed on any given night.  Teeth, scriptures, prayers, stories, cuddles, tuck-ins...the works.  It's a big job.  Pulls lots of weight.  (You didn't think I was going to say something else, did you?)

Unfortunately, the same bribe doesn't work for me.  As Doug brain-stormed, I threw out some suggestions:
"Ice Cream party?!"
"No."
"Ice Cream Sundae?"
"Nuh uh."
"Single scoop ice cream cone?"
"Nope."
"Pulling out one of your teeth with pliers?"  (Why should he get to have all the fun!?)
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

Obviously he didn't like my suggestions.

None-the-less, even without a bribe in place, we put a date on the calendar.

Next problem:  "But if I go to the gym, whatdoIdo?  Just wander in to any old room and start "working out"? (whatever that means!)  Do I have to check in?  Are certain rooms off-limits?  Do I have to go through a locker room?  I'm scared!  It's scary!  Don't make me go!!!"

Solution:  Healthy Friend Janeen.  She teaches SPIN at the gym.  She goes to the gym of her own free will. SHE would take me and initiate me into the strange, sweaty/stinky world of the physically fit.

So today was the day.  Janeen brought her two little kiddies here for Doug to watch and we set off.  She told me she'd help me and it wouldn't even be scary.  After a brief tour and a "warm-up"(whatever!  That warm-up was HARD) she decided to introduce me to the TRX ropes.  (straps?)  We walked into a room where a smallish, very ripped man was beating the crap out of a punching bag.
It was scary.
I was scared.
I could envision him killing me with a single blow to the throat.

I persevered and did the work out anyway.

Just a few cinchy little exercises.  5 reps each.  No problemo.  This "working out" stuff is a breeze.

Thirty minutes later, we were walking out of the gym and my legs were already a little jiggly.

Now, hours later, sitting calmly at the computer,  my whole body seems to be gently (but painfully) vibrating.

I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be rough day.

I'm going to go take a nap.